Photo via Houston Cougar Football/Facebook
*Editor's note: King now plans to redshirt this season and return to UH in 2020, per Joseph Duarte.
In a complete shocker, University of Houston record-breaking quarterback D'Eriq King is set to redshirt the remainder of the year and transfer from the program. Houston Chronicle's Joseph Duarte first broke the news of King sitting out the remainder of the year via redshirt. Then Fox 26's Mark Berman confirmed with King's father that his son would indeed be transferring to another school in order to play his redshirt senior season. However, his father said his decision won't be final until this evening, possibly after 5pm because he hasn't talked to Coach Dana Holgorsen. With the Cougars starting the season 1-3, it's totally understandable why King is not wanting to waste his last year of eligibility. What are some other factors we should consider surrounding King's decision?
Wasted season
A 1-3 start isn't ideal. The prospects of King being able to salvage anything from this season in order to show enough good tape to get drafted are very low. The team is still getting acclimated to Holgorsen's system. Even though it has spread looks, it's more run-based at a slower tempo than what the Coogs have been used to over the last 10 plus years or so.
Draft prospects
With Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray going back to back in winning the Heisman and getting drafted number one overall, King has an outside shot to get drafted pretty high if he shows the same sort of skill. Smaller and/or more athletic quarterbacks have slowly but surely shot down the stigma that they can't play at the next level. The NFL is a copycat league. Everyone will be looking for the next Mayfield, Murray, or Lamar Jackson and King could be it.
Time and opportunity
With the NCAA Transfer Portal giving guys the chance to seek playing time and opportunities in a situation more favorable to them, King is simply taking advantage of the system. It's about damn time the "student-athletes" have a way to take advantage of a system that has long taken advantage of them. What if Jalen Hurts does what his OU predecessors did by winning a Heisman and getting drafted number one overall? Would King want to follow in their footsteps? He'd be a fool not to. Lincoln Riley has already been dubbed the QB whisperer with how he helped Mayfield and Murray. He's on pace to do the same, or similar, with Hurts. King could be the next man up in Riley's QB transfer to NFL pipeline.
All things considered, this is what's best for all parties involved. The Coogs are in for a tough season, and King wants to take full advantage of his last year to maximize his NFL potential. Holgorsen gets to recruit other transfers and true freshmen at the position that'll be given the chance to come in and compete with guys currently on the roster. What if the next man up on the roster now that King is out proves to be a revelation? Chances are pretty slim of that happening, but you never know. Now Holgorsen gets to look at his team and see what all the needs are going into the offseason and recruit to fill them with his type of guys. Let's hope it works out for all those involved.
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Feb 28, 2025, 3:51 pm
Now that spring training is officially underway, we're able to make some observations about how the Astros 2025 roster is taking shape.
Houston's starting rotation is basically set, but we got to see Hayden Wesneski make his first start in an Astro uniform. Wesneski pitched two innings against the Mets on Tuesday, allowing one run with three strikeouts.
He's working on a curveball that's a new pitch for his repertoire, and he saw some success with it. Hopefully, adding this pitch will help keep batters off balance (especially left-handed hitters) and help elevate his game. Which is nothing new for the Astros, who have a history of helping pitchers get to the next level.
Forrest Whitley also looked good, pitching a clean inning and finishing off his final hitter with a 97 mph fastball. Whitley finally realizing his potential in the big leagues could be a huge deal for the Astros, as they're looking to lighten the workload for Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader this season.
Hader in particular could benefit from this adjustment, as he was much worse when pitching in non-save situations last season. An easy fix with Hader could be trying to limit his workload to mostly save situations. That way, you get the most out of him and achieve the goal of him pitching less innings this year.
The Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara wrote about Hader's struggles pitching when games were tied or Houston was trailing.
“Hader converted 34 of 38 save chances but faced more batters in non-save situations (142) than in save situations (136), a sharp pivot from his previous few seasons. Opponents slugged .271 against him in save situations and .411 in non-save situations, while his ERA was more than two runs higher (4.98) in the latter.”
And while it's easy to say “suck it up, you're getting paid a fortune to pitch,” if he's not having success in those situations, and you're looking to back off his workload, this seems like an obvious way to pivot. He's under contract for another four seasons, so the Astros are right to want to be careful with him.
Astros plate discipline
Manager Joe Espada has made it very clear that he would like his offense to see more pitches this season. And we're seeing a stark difference in the approaches from the newly acquired players (Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker) and Houston's returning hitters.
Keep in mind, Paredes was first in pitches per plate appearance last season, and Walker was 10th.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Paredes and Walker both worked a full count in their first at-bats on Tuesday, while Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats.
Hopefully the new blood in the clubhouse will rub off on the rest of the Astros lineup, which is full of free swingers, especially with Alex Bregman now playing for Boston.
Which is why we're so excited about Cam Smith's early results. While we're super pumped about his two home runs on Tuesday, we're equally impressed that he walked in his first two at-bats this spring. If anyone would naturally be jumping out of their shoes to make a strong first impression, you would think it's the guy that was traded for Kyle Tucker. But Smith was patient, and he was rewarded for it.
What is Dana Brown saying privately?
Just last offseason, Brown was talking about extending Tucker and Bregman while also signing Hader to a shocking 5-year, $95 million deal. Plus, the team signed Jose Altuve to a whopping $150 million extension. Fast-forward one year and Tucker has been traded, Bregman left in free agency, and Ryan Pressly was dealt in a salary dump. Safe to say, his vision for the ball club has changed drastically in one season. Welcome to baseball economics under Jim Crane!
We're just scratching the surface on everything covered in the video above. Be sure to hit play to watch the full conversation!
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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